Most people believe they are in control of their lives. We make choices every day, where to live, what work to do, who to love, and what paths to follow. The concept of free will seems fundamental to our understanding of responsibility and identity.
Yet during moments of crisis or reflection, a quieter question often appears: If I am free, why do the same patterns keep repeating?
People may change jobs, relationships, or environments, only to find themselves facing similar struggles in new forms. This repetition can feel confusing and frustrating, especially when a genuine effort has been made to choose differently.
One explanation is that free will is often misunderstood. We tend to think of it as total control over outcomes. But choice does not always determine results. It determines direction, intention, and experience.
Another way to look at this tension is to separate choice from destination.
From this perspective, free will exists in how we respond, interpret, and move through life, not necessarily in what happens to us. We may not control every event, but we do influence how deeply we experience it, how we relate to it, and how it shapes us.
This view helps explain why people can simultaneously feel both free and constrained. Life may present certain experiences repeatedly, but the internal journey through those experiences can change. Awareness grows, resistance softens, and understanding deepens.
It also reframes the fear that destiny removes meaning. If life were entirely unpredictable, experience might feel chaotic. If it were entirely fixed, effort might feel pointless. Meaning seems to live somewhere in between, where experience unfolds, but consciousness evolves.
When seen this way, free will is less about controlling life and more about participating in it. It is expressed through attention, reflection, and the willingness to engage honestly with what arises.
Rather than asking whether life is predetermined, a more helpful question may be:
How am I experiencing what is happening right now?
These ideas are explored through dialogue and reflection in Under the Moon’s Shadow: The Teachings of Master Chan, where questions of free will, destiny, and responsibility are examined without rigid conclusions.
Learn more about the book on Amazon.
Learn more about the book on Amazon.